Automatically shielded scraping devices



July 16, 1963 J. v. CLARK AUTOMATICALLY SHIELDED SCRAPING DEVICES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 15, 1960 ATTORNEY y 6, 1963 J. v. CLARK 3,097,384

AUTOMATICALLY SHIELDED SCRAPING DEVICES Filed June 15, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR, JOHN v. CLARK,

ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,1197,384 AUTOMATICALLY SHIELDED SCRAPING DE'VRZES John V. Clark, Brooklyn, N .Y., assignor to Byron M. Bailey, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Filed June 13, 1960, Ser. No. 35,508 10 Claims. (Cl. 15-111) The present invention relates to scrapers and more particularly to the type adapted to be carried on a brush broom. These scrapers are used for instance to remove dried wads of chewing gum imbedded on a pavement or floor.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a scraper which is automatically shielded when not in use, regardless of the position of the broom on the floor or in hand.

A further object thereof is to provide a novel and improved automatically shielded scraper of the class mentioned, which is of simple construction, reasonably cheap to manufacture, easy to use and eflicient in carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

For the practice of this invention, one form it may assume, is to have a horizontal scraping blade fixed along the front of the brush back, to extend therefrom forwardly and somewhat downwardly. In normal position, a shielding plate, is close to said blade, over it and extending forwardly beyond the cutting edge. Said shield is movably mounted on the brush back so that it can be shifted to expose the cutting edge. Spring means bias said shield to shielding position. At a position along the handle of the broom, below the top region thereof where it is usually gripped for sweeping use, there is an operating lever and associated linkage leading to the shield. There is a latch, which in non-'use condition of the device, locks one of the moving parts against movement, thereby holding the shield fixed.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a brush broom equipped with a preferred embodiment of an automatically shielded scraper in accordance with the teachings of this inven- 11011.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, enlarged side view with parts taken in cross section of FIG. 1, showing the scraper blade shielded. Here, the broom is in sweeping position.

FIG. 3 is like FIG. 2, showing the broom in scraping position and the scraping edge ready for its work.

FIG. 4 is a preferred embodiment of this invention of modified form, shown in perspective.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, enlarged side view with parts taken in cross section of FIG. 4, showing the scraper blade shielded. Here, the broom is in sweeping position.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side view of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is like FIG. 5, showing the broom in scraping position and the scraping edge ready for its work.

In the drawings, the numeral 15 designates generally a brush broom having a scraping blade 16 fixed thereto and extending forwardly and somewhat downwardly from the front of its brush back 17, between the brackets 18 which slidably support the shielding plate 19, close to and over said blade 16; said shield extending over the entire blade and beyond its cutting edge, to which normal position it is biased by the tension coil spring means 20; one such spring being at each bracket 18 whereto it is secured at one of its ends at 21, and its other end is attached to the shield at 22. The blade 16 and its shield 19* are symmetrical of the broom handle 23, on which at 24, there is pivotally mounted the operating 3,097,384 Patented July 16, 1963 lever 25. This lever has a bent, comparatively long arm 26 upwardly of said pivotal connection 24, and a much shorter arm 27 downwardly therefrom along said handle 23. A blade spring 28, bowed and stressed, is anchored within the sleeve 29 and acts against the lever arm 26 to hold such arm away from the handle 23. On a post 30 extending fixed from the top of the brush back 17, at 31, there is pivoted the bell-crank 32, whose downward arm 33 engages the up-turned end 34- of a spring latch or bolt 35 mounted on said brush back, while its rearwardly extending arm 36 is pivotally secured at its distal end at 37, to one end of a link rod 38; the other end of said link rod 38, being pivotally secured at 39 to the distal end of the arm 27 of the operating lever 25. Said latch 35 slidably fits into a hole 40 in the shielding plate 19, thereby locking the shield as in FIG. 2.

When the scraper is to be used, the broom 15 is set into position as shown in FIG. 3 and the lever arm 26 is pressed towards the handle 23, thereby stressing the spring 28 and causing the bell-crank 32 to turn, thereby withdrawing the latch 35 to free the shielding plate 19 which is in contact with the floor 41. Now the sweeper presses down on the handle 23, which causes the shielding plate 19 to rise and such movement of the plate will stress the springs 29 and clear the cutting edge of the blade 16 for action. Upon release of hold on the operating lever 25 and slight lift of the broom, the stressed springs 20 will shift the shielding member 19 to shielding position where the action of the stressed latch spring 42 will cause the latch 35 to enter the hole '50 to lock the shield because the action of the stressed blade spring 28 will shift the bell-crank 32, through movement of the link rod 38, to release the end 34 of the latch 35. The spring 42 for the latch, should be Weak enough so as to not to interfere with the intended movement of the shielding member 19. It will be readily understood by those versed in the mechanical arts, that by providing a universal joint between the elements 33 and 34 so that the latch 35 shall move with the bell crank 32, the spring 28 will accomplish the function of the latch spring 42, which latter, could then be dispensed with.

It is evident that with the mechanism in locked condition as shown in FIG. 2, it is impossible for anyone to be cut by the blade, regardless of how the broom 15' is laid on the ground or held in hand. Even if someone fell on the broom shown in its position on the ground as in FIG. 1, no cut by the blade would occur because the shield is locked.

Of importance to note is that the guard or shield 19 is automatically shifted to its shielding position as in FIG. 2 and held immobile, when said shield is oif the ground and lever 25 let go.

Whereas in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, the latch 35 cooperates with the shielding plate 19, the modified embodiment shown in FIGS. 4-7 employs a latch to cooperate with a moving member of the mechanism, to hold the shield immobile. In the example chosen to illustrate this point, the latch is made to cooperate with the operating lever, in order to hold the shield immobile at shielding position. So with slight change, the modified embodiment uses similar mechanism, which being the equivalent of their counterparts shown in FIGS. l-3, the corresponding parts in FIGS. 4-7 are designated as primed numbers in relation to the parts of FIGS. 1-3. So if any of the primed members are not further mentioned herein hereafter, reference can be made to like numbers unprimed, appearing in the FIGS. 1-3, for identification.

In the modified embodiment shown in FIGS. 4-7, the springs 21) though omitted here, may be included. Their omission is possible here, because the spring 28 takes on their function. The essential differences over the construction shown in FIGS. 1-3, are, the bent finger 43 provided on the operating lever arm 27', the latch 35' pivoted at 44, to automatically engage said finger 43, when the shield 19" is in shielding position as shown in FIG. 5, the latchs spring 42' anchored at 45 on the sleeve 29', and the bell-crank 32 which is universally joined at 46 to the shielding plate 19'.

To use the scraper 16, the article shown in the condition of FIG. 5, is moved to the position shown in FIG. 7. The downward edge of the shielding plate 19' will touch the ground. Now, press the arm 26' of the operating lever 25 towards the broom handle 23 after manually moving the latch 35 clockwise to release the finger 43. This will cause the bell-crank 32' to swing counterclockwise and thus raise the shielding plate 19' to clear the scraping blade 16' for action. The spring 28' will be stressed and the tip 43" of the finger 43 will remain in engagement with the cam surface 35" of the latch 35'.

Upon lifting the broom and releasing the hold on the operating lever 25, the action of the tensed spring 28 will restore said operating lever to its position shown in FIG. 5, the finger 43" will become engaged by the latch 35 and the upward movement of the link rod 38' will bring the shielding member 19 back to shielding position. Since the operating lever 25' is locked by the latch 35', the shielding plate 19 will be held immobile in its shielding position, all as shown in FIG. 5.

The universal connection heretofore suggested for the elements 34, 33 in FIG. 2, may be of the nature shown at 46 in FIG. 5. There should be enough looseness at the hole at connection 46 to permit the required shifting of the shielding plate 19, but such leeway should not allow said plate to be moved of itself a distance to clear the blade 16's cutting edge.

If desired, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3-7 can be operated for scraping by releasing the latch 35' and without touching the operating lever 25', the broom 15' in position as in FIG. 7, can be pressed down to shift the shielding plate 19 so that the cutting edge of the blade 16' is cleared for action. In such instance, the stressed spring 28' will restore the shield to shielding position upon lifting the broom and the subsequent action of the latch 35' will lock the mechanism so that said shield '19 is made immobile in shielding position to which it has been automatically shifted by the action of said spring 23.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and vari ous applications without departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It is therefore intended and desired that the embodiments shown herein shall be deemed merely illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to the following claims rather than to the specific description herein to indicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

l. A scraping device of the character described including an elongated horizontal member carrying a scraping blade therealong and extending laterally therefrom, said blade having a scraping edge along and spaced from said member; a shielding plate movably mounted on said member; said shielding plate, in normal rest position, being in close proximity to said blade, opposite it and extending beyond the scraping edge of said blade where said shielding plate terminates in an edge adapted to contact a floor upon positioning said horizontal member in a predetermined relation with respect to the floor whereby the scraping edge of said blade is off the floor; means positioned on said device for moving with the shielding member every time said shielding member is moved on said horizontal member; spring means on said device acting on said means which moves with the shielding plate to bias said shielding plate to a normal rest position; a handle extending from the center region of said horizontal member, whereupon when the device is set so that said edge of the shielding plate contacts the floor and said handle is pushed to move said member downwardly, the scraping edge of said blade will contact the floor and the spring means will be stressed, and when the handle is released by the operator of the device said spring will cause said shielding plate to return to its normal position; a latch-engageable means on said scraping device moving with the shielding plate; a releasable springbiased latch normally engaging said latch-engageable means to make the latter immobile, thereby locking the shielding plate against movement from its normal rest position and manually-operated latch-releasing means accessibly located on the handle for manipulation at all positions of said handle.

2. A scraping device as defined in claim 1, wherein the shielding plate is slidably mounted on the blade-carrying member.

3. A scraping device as defined in claim 1, wherein the blade-carrying member is the back of a sweeping brush.

4. A scraping device as defined in claim 1, wherein the latch engageable means is on the shielding plate and the latch is on the blade-carrying member, and said latchreleasing means includes an operating lever on the handle and a linkage associating said operating lever and said latch, adapted on movement of said lever from normal rest position, to move the latch out of engagement with the latch-engageable means.

5. A scraping device as defined in claim 1, wherein the latch-engageable means is on the handle and so is the latch.

6. A scraping device as defined in claim 5, wherein the latch-engageable means is on the operating lever.

7. A scraping device of the character described including an elongated horizontal member carrying a scraping blade therealong and extending laterally therefrom, said blade having a scraping edge along and spaced from said member; a shielding plate movably mounted on said member; said shielding plate, in normal rest position, being in close proximity to said blade, opposite it and extending beyond the scraping edge of said blade where said shielding plate terminates in an edge adapted to contact a floor upon positioning said horizontal member in a predetermined relation with respect to the floor whereby the scraping edge of said blade is off the floor; spring means on said device, biasing the shielding plate to a normal rest position; a handle extending from the center region of said horizontal member, whereupon when the device is set so that said edge of the shielding plate contacts the floor and said handle is pushed to move said member downwardly, the scraping edge of said blade will contact the floor and the spring means will be stressed, and when the handle is released by the operator of the device said spring will cause said shielding plate to return to its normal position; a latch-engageable means on the shielding plate; a releasable spring-biased latch mounted on said horizontal member normally engaging said latchengageable means to make the latter immobile, thereby locking the shielding plate against movement from its normal rest position; a bell-crank swingably mounted on said horizontal member; a manually-operated lever swingably mounted on the handle and accessibly located thereon for manipulation at all positions of the handle; a link pivotally connected to one arm of said bell-crank and to said lever whereby on movement of said lever from normal rest position, said bell-crank will be swung; the other arm of said bell-crank cooperating with said latch when said lever is moved from its normal rest position to shift said latch out of engagement with the latch-engageable means and spring means on said device, biasing said lever to a normal rest position.

8. A scraping device as defined in claim 7, wherein the blade-carrying member is the back of a sweeping brush.

9. A scraping device of the character described including an elongated horizontal member carrying a scraping blade therealong and extending laterally therefrom, said blade having a scraping edge along and spaced from said member; a shielding plate movably mounted on said member; said shielding plate, in normal rest position, being in close proximity to said blade, opposite it and extending beyond the scraping edge of said blade Where said shielding plate terminates in an edge adapted to contact a floor upon positioning said horizontal member in a predetermined relation with respect to the floor whereby the scraping edge of said blade is off the floor; a handle extending from the center region of said horizontal member; a bell-crank sWingably mounted on said horizontal member; a manually-operated lever swingably mounted on the handle and accessibly located thereon for manipulation at all positions of the handle; a link pivotally connected to one arm of the bell-crank and to said lever whereby on movement of said lever, said bellcrank will be swung; a spring means on said handle biasing said lever to a normal rest position; the other arm of said bell-crank cooperating with the shielding plate, when the lever is moved from its normal rest position, to shifit said plate to expose the scraping edge of the blade and, when said lever is moved to its normal rest position, to shift said plate to its normal rest position; movement of said lever away from its normal rest position causing said spring to be stressed and, when said lever is released by the operator of the device, said spring will cause said lever to return to its normal rest position; when said device is set so that said edge of the shielding plate contacts the floor and said handle is pushed to move said member downwardly, the scraping edge of said blade will contact the floor and said lever will move away from its normal rest position whereupon said spring Will be stressed and, When said handle is released by the operator of said device, said spring will cause the lever to return to its normal rest position; a latch-engageable means carried by said lever and a releasable spring-biased latch carried on the handle, normally engaging the latch-engageable means to make the handle immobile, thereby locking the shielding plate against movement from its normal rest position.

10. A scraping device as defined in claim 9, wherein the blade-carrying member is the hack of a sweeping brush.

Frank Aug. 1, 1922 Pinter June 28, 1938 

1. A SCRAPING DEVICE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED INCLUDING AN ELONGATED HORIZONTAL MEMBER CARRYING A SCRAPING BLADE THEREALONG AND EXTENDING LATERALLY THEREFROM, SAID BLADE HAVING A SCRAPING EDGE ALONG AND SPACED FROM SAID MEMBER; A SHIELDING PLATE MOVABLE MOUNTED ON SAID MEMBER; SAID SHIELDING PLATE, IN NORMAL REST POSITION, BEING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO SAID BLADE, OPPOSITE IT AND EXTENDING BEYOND THE SCRAPING EDGE OF SAID BLADE WHERE SAID SHIELDING PLATE TERMINATES IN AN EDGE ADAPTED TO CONTACT A FLOOR UPON POSITIONING SAID HORIZONTAL MEMBER IN A PREDETERMINED RELATION WITH RESPECT TO THE FLOOR WHEREBY THE SCRAPING EDGE OF SAID BLADE IS OFF THE FLOOR; MEANS POSITIONED ON SAID DEVICE FOR MOVING WITH THE SHIELDING MEMBER EVERY TIME SAID SHIELDING MEMBER IS MOVED ON SAID HORIZONTAL MEMBER; SPRING MEANS ON SAID DEVICE ACTING ON SAID MEANS WHICH MOVED WITH THE SHIELDING PLATE TO BIAS SAID SHIELDING PLATE TO A NORMAL REST POSITION; A HANDLE EXTENDING FROM THE CENTER REGION OF SAID HORIZONTAL MEMBER, WHERE UPON WHEN THE DEVICE IS SET SO THAT SAID EDGE OF THE SHIELDING PLATE CONTACTS THE FLOOR AND SAID HANDLE IS PUSHED TO MOVE SAID MEMBER DOWNWARDLY, THE SCRAPING EDGE OF SAID BLADE WILL CONTACT THE FLOOR AND THE SPRING MEANS WILL BE STRESSED, AND WHEN THE HANDLE IS RELEASED BY THE OPERATOR OF THE DEVICE SAID SPRING WILL CAUSE SAID SHIELDING PLATE TO RETURN TO ITS NORMAL POSITION; A LATCH-ENGAGEABLE MEANS ON SAID SCRAPING DEVICE MOVING WITH THE SHIELDING PLATE; A RELEASABLE SPRINGBIASED LATCH NORMALLY ENGAGING SAID LATCH-ENGAGEABLE MEANS TO MAKE THE LATTER IMMOBILE, THEREBY LOCKING THE SHIELDING PLATE AGAINST MOVEMENT FROM ITS NORMAL REST POSITION AND MANUALLY-OPERATED LATCH-RELEASING MEANS ACCESSIBLY LOCATED ON THE HANDLE FOR MANIPULATION AT ALL POSITIONS OF SAID HANDLE. 